Looking at the news today it seems we have another contender in the democratic primary, a governor this time. Let's see who's left on the left.
I'll start with the new guy, Jay Inslee, current governor of Washington state, who has decided to make a run. So far he hasn't resigned as governor so that might make thing interesting, how to run a state and a nationwide campaign at the same time. He is also considering dual campaigns in case the run for the White house doesn't work out. It's always good to have a backup plan, but not at the expense of your employers (the people of Washington, at least for now). The main part of his platform seems to be climate change, big surprise from the left coast, claiming "we're the first generation to feel the sting of climate change, and the last that can do something about it". Like Ocasio-Cortez (I'll just abbreviate that to AOC from now on), he plans to move this country to 100% "green energy" but doesn't seem to be too big on how to pay for it. Not a fan of the 2nd amendment and would seek stricter gun control (just control really, if we're being honest). He doesn't at this time seem to be a supporter of single payer medicine but does believe there should be a government funded option to compete with private insurance. This view will likely morph into full socialized medicine if and when he realizes that government run anything can't compete with the private sector. While he didn't declare WA a sanctuary state, he did limit the amount law enforcement and other agencies could assist ICE, not good if he goes nationwide with the same policy. He also increased Washington's state minimum wage to $12/hr, and while the state has historically had a higher minimum than the federal, unemployment seems to be rising as they ramp it up faster, since 2016. Another politician who doesn't understand supply and demand.
Next we'll look at someone more akin to Trump, in that he is a businessman and not a politician, Andrew Yang. Yang is a former tech executive whose main platform is a universal income for every, based on his belief that millions of jobs will be lost to automation. I think I've heard that before, indeed for most of my life, and the more I hear it the less true it becomes. This one is also a supporter of "medicade for all", aka single payer healthcare, and we know where that leads. While he has had success in the business world, I'm not sure his experiences will give him the leadership skills he'll need to run an organization as large as the U.S., the difference between him and Trump being the deal-making skill the latter possesses. He will also suffer with a name recognition issue, few have ever heard of him.
Pete Buttgieg, current mayor of South Bend IN (what is it with trying to run a government and a campaign at the same time?) has also decided to run. he pretty much support the whole laundry list that the left has, single payer health, GND, pathway to citizen ship for illegals. He does support pulling out of Afghanistan, as everyone should, and agrees that NAFTA was a disaster, but is also a strong supporter of labor unions, not surprising as he is a democrat. As a high school student he wrote an award winning positive essay about none other than Bernie Sanders, which should give you some insight into how he thinks.
Enough for today, I'll try to give you more tomorrow. Eventually I might get through them all, assuming every democrat in the country doesn't declare a campaign. At this point it seems they might.
One mans look at how America is failing and how we can stop it.
